Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none

 There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things?  I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.  Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?  I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."

He also spoke this parable:  "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.  Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, 'Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none.  Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?'  But he answered and said to him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it.  And if it bears fruit, well.  But if not, after that you can cut it down.'" 

- Luke 13:1-9

 In yesterday's reading, we read that Jesus taught:  "I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!  But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished!  Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth?  I tell you, not at all, but rather division.  For from now on five in one house will be divided:  three against two, and to against three.  Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."  Then He also said to the multitudes, "Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, 'A shower is coming'; and so it is.  And when you see the south wind blow, you say, 'There will be hot weather'; and there is.  Hypocrites!  You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?  Yes, and why, even of yourself, do you not judge what is right?  When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison.  I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the very last mite."

 There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things?  I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.  Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?  I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."  My study bible says that here are two historical incidents Jesus refers to, which are only reported in Luke.  The slain Galileans most likely were Zealots, Jewish nationalists, who triggered a disturbance against the Romans.  The collapsed tower in Siloam, either by accident or by sabotage, was nevertheless believed to be divine justice on sinners.  But Christ denies that this suffering was God's judgment.  Rather, these events are used to illustrate those who perish because they will not repent. 

He also spoke this parable:  "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.  Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, 'Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none.  Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?'  But he answered and said to him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it.  And if it bears fruit, well.  But if not, after that you can cut it down.'"   According to Augustine, the tree symbolizes the human race.  My study bible calls this interpretation universally accepted in the Church.  The three years represent different visitations:  the first is the time of the patriarchs and the covenant with God's people through Abraham.  The second is the covenant with Moses (the law and the prophets), and the third is with Christ (the Gospel).  The three years may also represent the three year earthly ministry of Jesus.  Each of these is rejected.  The keeper of the vineyard is Christ as well, who is our Intercessor:  He will suffer His Passion and send the Holy Spirit to us before the final judgment occurs.


Christ speaks of Judgment, but in a way to orient His listeners toward the things they should appropriately fear, and to turn them away from false fears.   The fates they see around them of people who suffer worldly deaths are not what they should fear.  Rather they should consider what the gift of life truly is, the spiritual treasure they are offered.  Worldly death comes to all people, but there is another life that is possible.  It is in this life that they should trust, and this life that they should seek for themselves.  The parable of the fig tree teaches us about where we are and what is possible for us.  The fig tree is a symbol of abundance and sweetness in its fruit, a goodness savored in the ancient world.  For Christ it serves as spiritual symbol of Israel and of all of God's people, all those called to bear spiritual fruit.  He uses it in the parable as an example of a crop waited for and watched over, with much effort put into it, and still it isn't bearing the fruit expected and desired of it.  This parable is another way to orient the people toward the reality of the life that Christ offers, a way to turn them from a "worldly" kind of thinking to a perspective that Christ is seeking to give them, about life itself and what is possible in the gift that He offers.  What is His ministry here for?  Why is He sent?  These questions are being answered in this parable.  For God to make such great effort, and for the events of the Passion that will come, Jesus tries to turn our eyes away from our worldly perspective and to the one that He is giving us:  that there is something so much greater with which we need concern and occupy ourselves.  The people He's speaking with fear an ignoble death or an unfortunate one, and connect these with personal sinfulness.  Jesus in another passage refutes common beliefs that sinfulness is always directly connected with worldly misfortune in a punitive sense (see John 9).  In both cases He's trying to point us to the proper perspective on life, and in particular our communion with God.  There is a greater and higher judgment -- and a greater and higher life we look toward.  The world is full of misfortune and even injustice, but we need a perspective on life that puts all of this into its proper place for us.  He asks us to live in communion in the Kingdom to which He invites us, participation in the life which He offers.  It will change our perspective and take us away from that which is limited to the purely worldly.  He invites us to refocus with a sense that the life we live is at once more transitory and at the same time more important than we think.  We are in this for the long haul, and linked more intimately than we know with a God who loves and cares for us so deeply that we are offered life more abundantly than we know.  It is this perspective He wants us to have, and within which to join with Him.  Once again, the invitation is one made purely of love and grace, for the life we are capable to receive, if we open our eyes to it.